Linux-Misc Digest #313, Volume #25 Wed, 2 Aug 00 03:13:02 EDT
Contents:
Re: fwd: SuSE Linux 7.0 released (blowfish)
Re: at&t lex (David Konerding)
Re: RPM crashes my Linux (David Konerding)
Re: FWD: Red Hat's CFO abandoning ship. (brian moore)
Re: GUI IDE (WYSIWYG) (E J)
Re: eth0 delaying initialization - why? (Elliott)
Screen 3.9.5 and GPM (Nick C.)
Re: Building a Linux Server from scratch: Experiences? (JIE ZHOU)
Re: Recover files after mkfs? (yates)
Postscript ("Nobby")
Re: Learn Unix on which Unix Flavour ? (Christopher Browne)
Re: i386 i586 i686 I'm confused??? (Christopher Browne)
Re: Linux for ancient RS6000? (Christopher Browne)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: blowfish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: ..
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux.suse,comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: fwd: SuSE Linux 7.0 released
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 21:58:52 -0700
Jerry L Kreps wrote:
>
> On Tue, 01 Aug 2000, David Steuber wrote:
> >[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> >
> >' ... and it's bad news! They split the distribution in two versions:
> >' personal (for private, desktop users) and professional (server
> >' related). They are also more expensive, don't have any major release
> >' (neither kernel 2.4, KDE 2.0, etc.) because they're too soon. There's
> >' is no reason to upgrade to 7.0. Wait til kernel 2.4 is released ...
> >
> >For some reason, I am still running with 6.2. I've been upgrading
> >packages as needed. Over time, I expect to have a system that is a
> >sort of DIY on top of the basic package in the SuSE 6.2 distro.
> >
> >Or, I may go the Debian route.
> >
> >--
> >David Steuber
> >NRA Membe
>
> While SuSE 7.0 may not be worth an upgrade from 6.3 or 6.4, it still is a good
> distro for those trying Linux or SuSE for the first time. Prior to 7.0, SuSE
> distros came on 6 CDs plus a 480+ page printed manual. That combination is now
> being packaged as the PRO version, while a 3 CD version is 'personal' version.
> The PRO is about $80 and the Personal is about $30. The net effect of the 7.0
> release is to double the price of the 6 CD set and offer a cheaper version.
> Also, YaST2 (the graphical sys admin tool) has been polished and a new tool,
> ALICE, makes it's appearance.
>
Get the DVD. It includes even more than the 6 CDs set. ;-)
And you don't have to baby sit the installation, once you're done with
keying in the basic, like language , apps selection, time zone, network
info. The whole process is automated.
- Alex / blowfish.
> My SuSE 6.3 is running perfectly, so I don't see a reason yet to upgrade. I
> will upgrade, however, after SuSE makes the journaling system standard on the
> install, and after KDE 2.0 comes out. Probably around 7.2, in 6 monts.
> Meanwhile, all you folks who are trying to decide how to jump into Linux, or to
> try SuSE, go ahead. It's a great distro!
--
- If Vi is God's editor. Then, God must have too much free time on his
hands,
lives a very boring and unproductive life; so he needs Vi to waste his
time.
Simplicity rules. That's why I use Easy Edit (ee).
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (David Konerding)
Subject: Re: at&t lex
Date: 2 Aug 2000 04:15:59 GMT
On 01 Aug 2000 20:06:23 -0400, David Rysdam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>ed <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
>> David Rysdam wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> > ed <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>> >
>> > > Can at&t lex be purchased somewhere and can it be installed on a linux
>> > > system?
>> >
>> > flex no good? Comes free from FSF on every Linux distro.
>> >
>> > --
>> > My public encryption key is available from www.keyserver.net
>>
>>
>> flex is no good, the output is too different. I do not want to rewrite
>> legacy code/source. need to be able to install at&t (or more similiar
>> substitute than flex) onto a linux machine.
>
>Hmmm...I thought there was a -traditional switch to flex that made it
>work like lex, but perusing the man page I don't see it. I may be
>thinking of yacc vs bison. Sorry!
"flex -l" turns on compatibility mode. Some Linux distributes have a 'lex' program
which is
just a shell script that runs "flex -l $*"
Dave
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (David Konerding)
Subject: Re: RPM crashes my Linux
Date: 2 Aug 2000 04:41:47 GMT
Try reinstalling Gentus from scratch. If that doesn't fix it, go to RH6.2.
If that doesn't fix it, you likely have a hardware problem.
Dave
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (brian moore)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.setup
Subject: Re: FWD: Red Hat's CFO abandoning ship.
Date: 2 Aug 2000 05:13:00 GMT
On Tue, 01 Aug 2000 19:25:49 -0700,
blowfish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> John Hasler wrote:
> >
> > blowfish writes:
> > > Red Hat, Debian et al are ALL selling the GNU-GPL stuff for money.
> >
> > Wrong. Debian sells nothing.
> >
>
>
>http://linuxmall.com/shop/01496?cat=ROOT&sort=2&vid=&search=debian&SID=90de0b724faa8352f505f5269a3dc28b&Start=
>
> It shows a $17.95 price tag there. ;-)
And Linuxmall is selling that. Not Debian.
(Hint: note the 'Manufacturer' field.)
> > > I know exactly what free software are. But my reason of using "free
> > > software" is not because they're free I always BUY the "official CDs/DVD
> > > releases,
> >
> > Then you don't know what free software is. It's free as in free speech,
> > not as in free beer.
>
> No, I *NEVER* care about beer. Free or not free. :-)
>
> But Free Speech is what I like, and treasure.
>
> But I also want to support those who contribute to the good stuff. ;-)
Then contribute. Buy a $2 CD from cheapbytes (at that price, their
margin is minimal, the cd's are loss leaders to get you to buy books and
such) and donate what you think is fair to Software in the Public
Interest or XFree86 or whoever.
--
Brian Moore | Of course vi is God's editor.
Sysadmin, C/Perl Hacker | If He used Emacs, He'd still be waiting
Usenet Vandal | for it to load on the seventh day.
Netscum, Bane of Elves.
------------------------------
From: E J <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: GUI IDE (WYSIWYG)
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 22:26:11 -0700
Kdevelop is a little rough but usable.
Michael Westerman wrote:
> What is avaliable
> i can prog in delphi, java, vb, pascal
>
> i am ready to start in linux but other than jbuilder i don't know what tools
> are avaliable for this.
>
> i am willing to learn a new language eg i have done some c (turbo c++from
> dos )
>
> links, documents and general pointers what ever.
> please email if possible to
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> or else put on news group
>
> thankyou.
> --
> -----------------------------------------------------
> Michael Westerman - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> The University of Southern Queensland
> The opinion expressed is that of the writer,
> and not necessarily that of the University.
------------------------------
From: Elliott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.networking,alt.linux
Subject: Re: eth0 delaying initialization - why?
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 05:35:55 GMT
Thank you everyone for your help. Finally, I got another ethernet card (3Com EtherLink
III) and a linux
guy into me computer and now it works. Now the only question is wether to burn the old
card or bury it.
Just kidding about that last sentence. Red Hat the Linux newsgroups rock!
PS: Diferent email because different computer.
Hakan Erdogan wrote:
> Hi, you definitely need the tulip for the LinkSys card. So you should get the new
>version and compile
> (see linksys site for how to compile), also add
> alias eth0 tulip.o to the /etc/conf.modules . Then you can do modprobe eth0
> to load it. Check messages with dmesg if it is OK. Then you can connect with
>ifconfig or other gui
> tools that comes with redhat.
>
> Elliott wrote:
>
> > When installing RH6.1, we installed the LILO (LInux LOader, or something).
>According to my RH
> > manual, page 444, I should use the de4x5.o module. However, I will also try tulip,
>as you
> > suggested. I also added another ethernet card just to see if that would help. It
>didnt. I added a
> > 3Com EtherLink III (Module 3c507). Same old error. I also have specified the io
>address and the
> > irq. Still same error (eth0: Delaying Initialization). I will try a boot disk. Any
>ideas on how to
> > create the boot disk? any help would, of course, be appreaciated. thanks!
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; newsgroups, too.
> >
> > Hakan Erdogan wrote:
> >
> > > Here is how my problem with the same card solved. I also get the sendmail pause
> > > thing (still).
> > > First, my question is do you use loadlin to load linux or lilo? I used to use
>loadlin and it
> > > did not work. My guess is that windows plays with the PCI bios or something so
>that the driver
> > > (tulip.o) could not detect the card correctly. There is a program tulip-diag.c
>that is
> > > supposed to diagnose the problem. When I ran it, it was saying that PCI bios
>does not show
> > > correct IRQ or something. You can also try it. When I used a boot disk, the
>driver worked
> > > correctly!!! Also, you need the latest version of tulip.c to detect LinkSys card
>and compile
> > > it. After loading the module, check the messages with dmesg and see if the
>driver is loading
> > > properly with the correct IRQ and everything. Good luck. Then I guess ifup
>should work.
> > >
> > > Elliott wrote:
> > >
> > > > Ok. I tried the settings that you gave me, and I still get the same error,
> > > > only now the machine pauses for ever on semdmail, so I turned sendmail off.
> > > > Anyway, linux is not very fun with out an internet connection.... Here is what
> > > > I know about my ether net card (printed from some program in windoze...):
> > > >
> > > > xE800 - xE8FF Linksys LNE100TX Fast Ethernet Adapter
> > > >
> > > > IRQ 10 Linksys LNE100TX Fast Ethernet Adapter
> > > > IRQ 10 Intel 82371AB/EB PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
> > > > IRQ 10 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
> > > > IRQ 10 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
> > > >
> > > > xEA800000 - xEA8000FF Linksys LNE100TX Fast Ethernet Adapter
> > > >
> > > > Linksys LNE100TX Fast Ethernet Adapter
> > > > Net
> > > > Registry Key:
> > > >
>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\enum\PCI\VEN_11AD&DEV_C115&SUBSYS_C00111AD&REV_25\BUS_00&DEV_0A&FUNC_00
> > > >
> > > > Alloc resources: Logical Configuration 0
> > > > IRQ: 10 Mask: xFFFF
> > > > IO Range: Base=xE800 End=xE8FF
> > > > Min=x0000 Max=xFFFF Alias=xFF, Decode=x00
> > > > Memory Address Range: Base= xEA800000 End=
> > > > xEA8000FF Min= x00000000 Max= xFFFFFFFF
> > > > Forced resources: None
> > > > Boot resources: None
> > > > Filtered resources: Logical Configuration 0
> > > > IRQ: 10 Mask: xFFFF
> > > > IO Range: Base=xE800 End=xE8FF
> > > > Min=x0000 Max=xFFFF Alias=xFF, Decode=x00
> > > > Memory Address Range: Base= xEA800000 End=
> > > > xEA8000FF Min= x00000000 Max= xFFFFFFFF
> > > > Basic resources: Logical Configuration 0
> > > > IRQ: 0 Mask: xFFFF
> > > > IO Range: Base=xE800 End=xE8FF
> > > > Min=x0000 Max=xFFFF Alias=xFF, Decode=x00
> > > > Memory Address Range: Base= xEA800000 End=
> > > > xEA8000FF Min= x00000000 Max= xFFFFFFFF
> > > > HW Revision: 037
> > > > Driver: Net\0002
> > > > Driver Date: 2- 9-1999
> > > > Driver: LNE100TX.sys
> > > > File Size: 32768 (0x8000)
> > > > File Date: 12/17/1998 10:3
> > > > PM
> > > > Company Name: Linksys
> > > > Group, Inc.
> > > > File Version: 4.20
> > > >
> > > > Linksys LNE100TX Fast Ethernet Adapter
> > > > Original Configuration Mon Aug 28 10:10:23 2000 to Date
> > > > Alloc resources: Logical Configuration 0
> > > > IRQ: 10 Mask: xFFFF
> > > > IO Range: Base=xE800 End=xE8FF
> > > > Min=x0000 Max=xFFFF Alias=xFF, Decode=x00
> > > > Memory Address Range: Base= xEA800000 End=
> > > > xEA8000FF Min= x00000000 Max= xFFFFFFFF
> > > > Driver: LNE100TX.sys 12/17/1998
> > > > 10:3 PM Size: 32768
> > > >
> > > > LNE100TX 4.20 Linksys Group, Inc. Linksys LNE100TX NDIS 3.1 Driver
> > > > C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\LNE100TX.sys Plug and Play NT driver Linksys LNE100TX Fast
> > > > Ethernet Driver
> > > >
> > > > From what I have read in another reply, I need to disable the PNP OS in my
> > > > bios setup. Well, it was allready disabled. But there is a whole lota stuff in
> > > > there... any ideas?
> > > > thanks!
> > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] or newsgroups.
> > > >
> > > > "Quiney, Philip [HAL02:HH00:EXCH]" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Elliott wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I just installed a new hard drive and now have two drives, we have
> > > > > > windows on one and linux on the other (redhat 6.1) it dualboots fine. In
> > > > > > windoze the ethernet card works fine and uses dhcp to grab it's IP
> > > > > > address. In redhat however when it boots up I get a message that says
> > > > > > eth0: Delaying Initialization or something like that. I when I type ifup
> > > > > > eth0 we get the same message.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Help.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I am trying to do dhcp remember...
> > > > > > thank you
> > > > > >
> > > > > > You can email me at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > > > > Hi,
> > > > >
> > > > > The message 'Delaying Initialization' usually means that the card is not
> > > > > being found. You didn't say what type of card it is.
> > > > >
> > > > > Check /etc/conf.modules to see what eth0 is aliased as...
> > > > >
> > > > > [root@phard1e0 net]# cat /etc/conf.modules
> > > > > alias eth0 3c59x
> > > > > ..snip..
> > > > >
> > > > > in my case
> > > > >
> > > > > For some NIC (such as NE2000 clones) you need to give it a hint by
> > > > > specifying base i/o address
> > > > > eg
> > > > >
> > > > > alias eth0 io=0x300 (or whatever).
> > > > >
> > > > > If you don't know what this is then get hold of the diagnostic disk that
> > > > > come with most NICs and switch off pnp mode on the card (put in
> > > > > 'jumperless' mode) and set the base address/irq manually. Normally if
> > > > > you give the base address correctly the driver can figure out the irq
> > > > > for itself. You will normally need to use a DOS boot disk to run these
> > > > > diagnostic programs.
> > > > >
> > > > > I would pull the plug on the internet link and try to bring the card up
> > > > > manually. The configuration is in
> > > > > /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
> > > > >
> > > > > Copy this file to a safe place and then change the BOOTPROTO variable to
> > > > > BOOTPROTO=static and setp up a static address (from the non-routable
> > > > > series)...
> > > > >
> > > > > DEVICE=eth0
> > > > > BOOTPROTO=static
> > > > > BROADCAST=10.0.0.255
> > > > > IPADDR=10.0.0.1
> > > > > NETMASK=255.255.255.0
> > > > > NETWORK=10.0.0.0
> > > > > ONBOOT=yes
> > > > >
> > > > > You can use 'ifup eth0' 'ifdown eth0' to bring the inteface up & down.
> > > > > Once the driver module loads (use lsmod to see what modules you have
> > > > > loaded) you will need to use 'rmmod' to remove it.
> > > > >
> > > > > Once working you can restore your ifcfg-eth0 original and all should be
> > > > > well..
> > > > >
> > > > > HTH
> > > > >
> > > > > Regards
> > > > >
> > > > > Phil Q
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > >
> > > > > Phil Quiney CSIP Demonstrator
> > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Nortel Networks,
> > > > > Telephone: +44 (1279) 402363 London Rd, Harlow,
> > > > > Fax: +44 (1279) 402885 Essex CM17 9NA,
> > > > > United Kingdom.
> > > > >
> > > > > "This message may contain information proprietary to Northern
> > > > > Telecom so any unauthorised disclosure, copying or distribution
> > > > > of its contents is strictly prohibited."
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Nick C.)
Subject: Screen 3.9.5 and GPM
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 06:00:55 GMT
I'm using screen 3.9.5 on Slackware 7.1.0/kernel 2.2.16. After quite a bit
of configuration and man-page searching, I got it to work on the Linux
console. Except for one problem: My version of ncurses (5.1) has GPM support
compiled in, so that I can open links with the mouse cursor in Lynx 2.8.3.
Under screen, this behavior ceases to function. GPM seems to revert to its
'normal' behavior of just highlighting the character under the cursor. Are
there any terminfo or termcap codes that will fix this problem?
--
Nick C. - GnuPG fingerprint: (key available at www.keyserver.net)
CUT HERE:---------------$ sed -e '1,2d' < .signature-------------CUT HERE
pub 1024D/6110137B 2000-07-30 Nick C. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Key fingerprint = D09E AB1F AB93 5A78 7DD5 7212 F1FD 90BD 6110 137B
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (JIE ZHOU)
Crossposted-To: comp.os.linux.hardware
Subject: Re: Building a Linux Server from scratch: Experiences?
Date: 2 Aug 2000 06:06:33 GMT
I bought Dell computer in 1997. That guy charge me $2500US. After I
built my first computer and look at old one from DELL, I realize how I
made him rich. But it is too late. The lesson one is Doing yourself.
: There is one more advantage with building your own PC: You really get to
: know your PC and will know exactly what to replace and how to replace it
: the day you want to upgrade your PC.
: regards Henrik
: --
: spammer strikeback:
: root@localhost
: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
From: yates <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Recover files after mkfs?
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 01:36:19 -0500
I used Norton Utilities for DOS and recovered most of my files; it has a
very useful application that lets you view a physical disk
sector-by-sector, and copy selected sectors to a file. I copied all floppy
disk sectors to a file and used a text editor to extract data that are
important to me. Thankfully, Linux relies heavily on ASCII text files!
------------------------------
From: "Nobby" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Postscript
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 08:25:18 +0200
Hi there,
I've got a postscript document which was splitted by the author into several
files (File No. 1 is Chapter One, File No. 2 is Chapter Two...) and I'd like
to merge them into one single file.
Can anybody tell me how to do this?
Thanks in advance
Nobby
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Crossposted-To: alt.os.linux,alt.solaris.x86,comp.os.linux.advocacy
Subject: Re: Learn Unix on which Unix Flavour ?
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 07:03:32 GMT
Centuries ago, Nostradamus foresaw a time when Grant Edwards would say:
>In article <8m5arc$t85$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
>>> Which, IMO, means that the actual meaning/value of the brand has been
>>>so
>>> diluted it's worth nothing.
>>
>>Diluted... no. Adulterated, yes.
>
>>A few years ago, there was an interesting company in the wild
>>called Softway Systems. They developed a complete POSIX
>>subsystem for Windows NT. If you could afford all their stuff,
>>you could add full P1003.x compliance to your NT boxen. K&R
>>compiler, vi, cron, X11R5, lotsa good stuff. Anyway, IIRC,
>>they paid the dues money and joined the OpenGroup, started
>>passing the conformance tests, got a lot of industry support
>>behind them, and came damned close to getting branded. That
>>would've made Windows NT officially UNIX. Trademark and all.
>>Scary thought, isn't it?
>
>After they changed their name to Interix, I got a demo CD of
>their Open NT (or whatever the name was of their Posix/Gnu/NT)
>thing. I never got a chance to install it before it expired,
>so I don't know how well it worked. It looked like an
>impressive piece of work based on the literature.
Softway Systems got bought out by Microsoft in September 1999, with
the following "press release" that sits at <http://www.interix.com/>:
"Microsoft acquired Softway Systems, Inc. to help ensure that
customers have reliable interoperability tools between Windows and
Unix. The Interix technologies provide Unix customers with an easy
migration path to Windows by allowing them to run their Unix
applications on Windows NT while migrating their code to the Win32
API.
Our customers are asking for migration and interoperability tools for
moving their tools and scripts to Windows NT. Softway Systems provides
a great vehicle for fulfilling this customer requirement.
By acquiring Softway Systems, Microsoft benefits customers by:
- enabling them to use a single desktop for all applications
- providing an application migration path to the Windows platform"
It's now sold at <http://www.estoredirect.com/>, by the way...
--
[EMAIL PROTECTED] - <http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/>
"I once went to a shrink. He told me to speak freely. I did. The
damn fool tried to charge me $90 an hour."
-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Jim Moore Jr)
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Subject: Re: i386 i586 i686 I'm confused???
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 07:03:35 GMT
Centuries ago, Nostradamus foresaw a time when Robert Heller would say:
> Packetgeek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> In a message on Tue, 01 Aug 2000 13:18:42 GMT, wrote :
>P> I want to update my Apache server. I went to their site and see that
>P> they have i586 and i686 binaries available. Many of the programs I've
>P> DL'd before were i386. I'm running RH6.1 on a 233 MHz pentium MMX. Does
>P> this mean I can use i386 and i586 but not i686??? Any help would be
>P> appreciated. Thanks
>P>
>
>I believe so. Do a 'uname -a' and see what it returns.
The "i386" option is the most generic, supporting anything at least as
new as an 80386.
The i586 and i686 descriptions typically indicate that code was
compiled using PGCC, using either:
a) Pentium optimizations (e.g. - i586), or
b) Pentium Pro optimizations (e.g. - i686)
See: <http://www.foyer.se/PGCC.html>
i686 covers all of Pentium Pro/Celeron/PentiumII/III, so that if you
have a Pentium MMX, you'd not want to go beyond i586. If that's a
Pentium II MMX, then i686 would be pretty acceptable.
Opinions are mixed on how valuable it really is to do this tuning;
some swear by it; others (I sit amongst the "others") are a bit
skeptical of the ultimate importance of the performance enhancing
properties of the "-mpentiumpro" option.
If you truly want the "ultimate" in tuning, you probably should
download the software in source code form, and compile it yourself
using your own finely honed options.
There is a theory out there that this may become increasingly
practical with some future enhancements to Debian's "dpkg" that would
encourage downloading sources rather than binaries, and compiling
those using site-specific options...
--
[EMAIL PROTECTED] - <http://www.hex.net/~cbbrowne/>
"I once went to a shrink. He told me to speak freely. I did. The
damn fool tried to charge me $90 an hour."
-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Jim Moore Jr)
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Christopher Browne)
Subject: Re: Linux for ancient RS6000?
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 07:03:40 GMT
Centuries ago, Nostradamus foresaw a time when Robert Heller would say:
> Juergen Sauer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
> In a message on 1 Aug 2000 12:41:26 GMT, wrote :
>
>JS> fred smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> schrieb
>JS> am Mon, 31 Jul 2000 01:50:54 GMT in comp.os.linux.misc:
>JS> fs> My employer has an ancient (circa 1992) IBM RS6000 box that has lost
>JS> fs> one of its (gigantic ;-) 400 meg SCSI drives. They're thinking of not
>JS> fs> fixing it due to its age. If they dump it, I may stand outside the
>JS> fs> window and try to catch it as it goes by!
>JS>
>JS> fs> Can anyone tell me if there's a Linux anywhere (or maybe a *bsd) that
>JS> fs> will run on this thing? It's NOT a PowerPC machine, it's IBM's old
>JS> fs> RISC processor from before the days of the PowerPC.
>
>Same basic processor type though. The original PowerPC *chip* was just
>a chip version of the RS6000 processor *board*.
That may be so; that doesn't mean that Linux will necessarily "play
well" with it.
A compatibility list for PPCLinux may be found at
<http://www.linuxppc.org/about/hardware/ibm/>
They indicate as being specifically _incompatible_ the MicroChannel
Architecture machines as well as machines with the POWER CPU as
opposed to PPC.
The problem is that getting a system up and running involves a whole
lot more than simply having the processor up and running. It also
includes:
a) Having some boot procedure that gets the kernel from somewhere and
starts it running. As with LILO or GRUB (IA-32), MILO (Alpha),
SILO (Sparc), OpenBoot (Newer PPC) and such.
b) Knowing how to interface with crucial system hardware such as disk
drives, displays, keyboards, and such. People have coded
interfacing for these things for such buses as IDE, SCSI, VME-bus,
ISA, PCI, VESA, and such. Unfortunately, early POWER architecture
machines likely use none of this, save, perhaps, for some IBM SCSI
host adaptor. There is only support for MicroChannel on the IA-32
architecture, and that pretty limited.
You might look to <http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/prep/>; that indicates
the most relevant NetBSD support. I'm not sure it'll cover the
machine in question, as I suspect that PReP involved the PCI bus, not
MCA...
>JS>
>JS> 1992 ?
>JS> Then there should be an execlent AIX 3.2.x OS on it...
>JS> (Motif V1.2, X11R5 should be included)
>JS>
>JS> Catch the AIX Boot Install Tape (or later: CD) also.
>JS> Yes, this thing boots from SCSI QIC Tape ... if nessesary ;->
>JS>
>
>If you fail to catch the AIX Boot Install Tape, you should be able to
>install Linux on the box. Visit http://www.ibm.com/ for info -- IBM is
>said to support Linux on *ALL* of the computers IBM sells (even the
>monster mainframes!).
That overstates things somewhat. IBM may support Linux on all the
_lines_ of computers that they sell. But not on every model of every
computer that they have _ever_ sold.
I'd think it wiser to use this box to run AIX, as that certainly
should be well-supported.
--
[EMAIL PROTECTED] - <http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/>
Rules of the Evil Overlord #139. "If I'm sitting in my camp, hear a
twig snap, start to investigate, then encounter a small woodland
creature, I will send out some scouts anyway just to be on the safe
side. (If they disappear into the foliage, I will not send out another
patrol; I will break out the napalm.)" <http://www.eviloverlord.com/>
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